


Friends with Death

by miserablesoldier



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 13:56:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miserablesoldier/pseuds/miserablesoldier
Summary: (Set after the Masquerade in season two) With Katherine locked up in the tomb under Fell's Church and the impending doom of Elijah and Klaus looming over them, Caroline realises they need more back up and finds she is not the only vampire in her family.





	1. I can feel my death

The sun was setting, casting a muted glow over the, more than likely, cursed town around them. It was quiet; though, if Caroline tried she was sure she could hear more. She heard voices of strangers, friends and couples walking past her window as it was cracked open to just a little bit. The little bit of cool air didn’t affect her one bit but she didn’t make it a habit into listening into their conversations as she was focusing all her energy sorting the recent developed photographs into the photo albums.

  
Her mom worked the late shift tonight and she wasn’t under Katherine’s torment anymore so she found the time for the little things like getting all nostalgic as she skimmed through pictures of when her family was whole. Just her mom, her dad and herself. It was small but it was enough. It was family but it didn’t stay like that. Her dad found love with a man and her parents got a divorce. Caroline stayed with her mom, she hardly ever hears from her dad anymore but she is okay with that.

  
She has vampire and werewolf problems now. Although, Katherine is locked away in the tomb thanks to Damon and Stefan, there were other things to worry about. Like the fact that Elena is being hunted by the oldest vampire ever: Klaus. Apparently. That’s what Rose, Elena’s kidnapper, from the masquerade said.

A very reliable source, she had thought.

  
As for werewolves, Katherine had used her manipulative powers to make Tyler trigger the curse which worked. Caroline, the do-gooder she is, wanted to help Tyler. He’s changed a lot from the arrogant, douchebag drug user he used to be. He’s just a confused, angry and scared werewolf now. She had given her word to Damon that she wouldn’t go there with Tyler as legend has it that a werewolf bite could kill a vampire.

  
Tonight, however, was going to be a quiet and tame night. She did all the things she had put off since she was smothered with a pillow and woke up as a vampire – many thanks to Katherine. She had a lot of camera films developed which took all day. No, literally, all day but it was better than going insane over every single detail of whatever is happening in Mystic Falls right now.

  
She thoughts went to one of her best friends, Elena, she wondered how she was feeling after finding out that she was needed in a ritual sacrifice by breaking some sort of sun and moon curse on the vampires and werewolves. With both Salvatore’s in hand, Caroline imagined that she would be well protected now. Klaus wasn’t here yet so they had time to figure a way to save Elena from being the sacrificial lamb – Damon has taken that into his own hands and gone into ‘protection mode’.

  
She felt pity for the rich brown haired girl and what she has yet to endure. Elena didn’t ask for any of this. It hasn’t even been a year since her (adoptive) parents died in that car crash on Wickery Bridge, then she met Stefan and she had some control of her life back but then she was thrust into crazy world of vampires, and now werewolves. Caroline was dragged into the same world as was Bonnie, and she wasn’t too fond of vampires to begin with.

  
Vampires led to the death of her Grams, Sheila, whom she was still grieving over and she put a lot of the blame on Damon. Bonnie nearly killed him by fire when she found out that his blood turned Caroline into a vampire. The only person she blamed for her sudden vampirism was the vindictive woman that made her into what she is in the first place.

  
Katherine.

  
It all led back to Katherine.

  
Then it hit Caroline. Two 150-year-old vampires, plus a baby vampire wasn’t going to cut for what they are up against. They needed more teeth, more strength. An older vampire, not Rose. She wasn’t going to fight alongside them at all. She was more than afraid of Klaus and Elijah, she wouldn’t dare go against them. Katherine was a no-go as well. She faked her death in 1864 to get away from them, she wasn’t going to fight at all. There was no else – so Caroline gave up.

  
Now, she was sat fitting all the newly developed photographs into six separate photo albums. She flipped through them all, trying to fit the right years to them all. Caroline had all the albums in a curled semi-circle around her so she could have access to all of them at once.

  
Two hours later and she had nearly gotten to the end of the photograph placement. She found something irregular in every photo album. There was an anomaly, something wrong or rather someone for that matter.  
She took one photo from each of the six photo albums and examined them all at once. Once up close, then from a slight distance. They were all the same photo but different years, decades between them. A woman with mid length blonde hair, like Caroline, in one decade, then with shorter brunette hair, almost like Rose’s but not a pixie cut, in the next but with the same face in a different decade and a recent one with herself in at three years old but the woman had long black waved hair.

  
They were all the same woman. Six decades and she looked the same. She had different hair and makeup every time but it was the same. Caroline flipped the photo of the woman and her three-year-old self in and found the names.

  
“Caroline’s third birthday! Bill, Liz, Caroline, Charlie, Dana, David, Paula and Cora – 1996.” Caroline read aloud to herself. She remembered the birthday but not her. She knew all the names but one.

  
Cora.

  
She is a vampire, she thought as she flipped the photo to look at the dark-haired woman once more.

  
Caroline tried to piece Cora into her life, trying to remember her and place her face and voice but she couldn’t. If she was compelled by Cora, then the memories would have resurfaced when became a vampire.  
She tried to do some math with Cora’s age, and how long she had been a vampire. “She’s at least sixty years old at least with these pictures but she could be older than that but why was she at my birthday? Or even in these photos to begin with?” She stopped speaking to herself when she heard the door open and close downstairs. Her mom was home – she didn’t bother to say hello.

  
Liz took things into her own hands and trekked up the stairs, she reached Caroline’s bedroom door. She tapped her knuckles gently against her door. She smiled softly at her daughter. “Hey, what’re you up to?”

  
Caroline looked up. Maybe, just maybe, mom would remember her if she wasn’t compelled. Let’s hope for the best. She thought with a lot of hope, she just didn’t want it to be false hope. She and her friends needed the help.

The Salvatore’s were running around like headless chickens at this point. “Mom, do you remember her by any chance? Because I can’t seem to place her.” Caroline outstretched her arm towards Liz, and the sheriff leant forward, taking a good gander at the photo and of Cora.

  
“Oh, that’s your Aunt Cora. I haven’t seen her since your third birthday. I heard that her partner at the time had died so she just shut down. No one could help her.” Liz smiled sadly at that.

  
Caroline nodded sadly. “That’s so sad.” She commented and it was sincere. She knew a vampire’s emotions were heightened and Stefan had said that heartbreak could be crippling which could lead to flipping the humanity switch. Caroline wished that wasn’t the case with Cora.

  
“Do you have her number still?” Caroline asked in soft, small voice and looking up at her mother with those big blue eyes of hers.

  
Liz fell for the eyes every time. “Yeah, I do. Here.” She held out her personal phone to Caroline.

  
She took a hold of her phone, opened the contacts and quickly found Cora’s contact icon. Caroline took out her own phone and added her name and mobile number to her contact list. “Thanks.” She handed the phone back to Liz, she put it back in her pocket.

  
“Look, honey, I don’t know if that number still works so don’t get your hopes too high. She could’ve moved and changed her number.” Caroline nodded, understanding that possibility.

  
She gave her a small smile. “I get it – people change and all that. How about we get some takeout?”

  
Liz nodded. “Already on its way, I called when I left the station.” Caroline smiled happily and watched as her mom leave the entrance to her bedroom and made her way downstairs.

  
Caroline looked down at her phone and clicked Cora mobile number. She hoped she still used it even after fifteen years. She held the phone to her ear as the dial tone rang but it went straight to voice mail, she sighed but left a message.

  
“Hey, uh, aunt Cora, its Caroline Forbes, you came to my third birthday, like, fifteen years ago, ring a bell? Look, I know you’re a vampire and I am one too as of recent. I just really need your help. I’m still at the same address in Mystic Falls, Virginia. Call me back, please. Thanks.” She pressed ‘end call’ after that.

She made it completely obvious. She really need to see her and hoped she was one of those ‘good vampires’ like Stefan but on the stronger stuff but not exactly like Damon with no impulse control.

  
Caroline joined her mom with takeout food and put all the photo albums on the shelving unit in the living room once she was done. She thought about Cora a lot. This better have been a good idea, she thought as her head hit the pillow and she fell straight to sleep.

  
Caroline woke up with a groan expecting the sun to be glaring at her but a shadow was cascaded over her. She went all panicky, thinking that Katherine was out of the tomb and out for revenge. She pushed up and looked up at the person the shadow belonged to.

  
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Katherine?” She spoke shakily but the more her eyes focused on the shadow the more she realised.

  
That wasn’t Katherine.

  
“You do really need my help.” Her voice wasn’t as threatening as she thought it would be, she was gentle with her.

  
Caroline was as shocked as she was unnerved. “Aunt Cora?”

  
“Just Cora, little one.” 


	2. death sounds so beautiful

Caroline pushed herself up, crossing her legs as her back rested against the wooden headboard of her bed.

Cora placed herself at the end of her bed. She wore black skinny jeans, a dark grey shirt with a camouflage jacket. Her jet-black hair cascading over shoulders in gentle waves. Caroline would have feared her if it wasn’t for her soft grey eyes. There was something swirling in them that calmed her.

  
She really liked that.

  
“Now, what are you doing with Katherine Pierce?” Cora didn’t look impressed with that set of information.

  
Caroline was still cautious as she didn’t know her from anything. She couldn’t remember her at all. “You know her?”

  
“Of course, although she doesn’t know me so let’s keep it that way, Caroline.”

  
She nodded, making a note to keeping that information to herself. “Don’t worry too much about Katherine, Damon and Stefan have her in the tomb under Fell’s Church.”

  
She didn’t say anything after that but she just stared at Caroline, almost as if she was scanning her or checking her over for something. Caroline arched her eyebrow at her. “What?”

  
“You’re scared of her.” Cora told her and then continued, clarifying what she meant.

“Katherine. She killed you, didn’t she?”  
Caroline nodded stiffly. She remembered that night so clearly – she will never forget it at all. She woke up and saw, what she thought was, Elena not sporting her signature straight hair. It was set in tight curls. Her eyes weren’t doe-eyed as she remembered, they were darker.

She questioned ‘Elena’ but only ended up with a pillow covering her face. “She did. She smothered me with a pillow.”

  
Cora looked down at her hands, exhaling an exhausting sigh. “I’m sorry this happened to you.” She pushed herself off the end of her bed and strolled towards the window that faced the road, and other houses that sat opposite.

  
Caroline’s eyes never left her. Her humanity was intact, she cared about things and more importantly her which she hardly understands. “I have so many questions.”

She began, getting out of her bed and heading to her wardrobe. She pulled the doors open. “Like, how fast you got here since I left the message not twenty-four hours ago,”

  
“Also, like, how you know about Katherine.” She kept going.

  
Cora looked back at the blonde with an amused smile as she kept rambling on with her questions. “How old are you anyway? Do you know about werewolves? Witches?” She didn’t stop her as she got dressed into jeans, a flowy shirt, a leather jacket with a cute silk scarf around her neck.

  
Cora’s brow furrowed as a phone buzzed on a side table. Caroline picked up the phone quickly. “It’s Elena.” She told her, looking at her for guidance.

  
“It must be important. It’s from the doppelganger.” That confirmed that Cora knew about Elena’s heritage. Caroline nodded and answered the phone.

  
“What’s happening?” She asked into the phone.

  
Cora listened into the conversation, she found the voice to be like Katherine’s but sweeter. “I need your help, Caroline.”

  
“What is it? Are you okay?” Caroline asked hurriedly, concern lacing her tongue.

  
Cora heard the stuffing of a bag in the background. “Yeah, just meet me at the edge of the woods. I’ll tell you everything.” Caroline looked at Cora, wondering if something was seriously wrong with her best friend.

  
Cora nodded. “As I said, it must be important.”

  
“Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Caroline confirmed over the phone to Elena.

  
Elena ended the call soon after. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

  
Caroline grabbed a handbag that coordinated with her current outfit. She shoved her phone in the bag, as well as her purse and an emergency thermos of B positive blood – her favourite.

  
Caroline stopped at her bedroom door, looking back at Cora from over her shoulder. “Aren’t you coming?”

  
Cora chuckled. “I doubt your friend would be pleased at the fact if me being around you.”

  
“You have questions to answer, plus, if you were here to hurt me or anyone I care about you would have done it already.” Caroline smirked at her.

  
“Little one, I would never hurt you.” That smirk dropped and her heart filled with warmth. What she said was all true, she could see it and feel it in her gut. Cora wouldn’t lay a finger on her. She cared about her.

  
Caroline smiled. “Then, come on.”

  
Cora followed Caroline down the stairs and joined her in her silver car. “Start your questions and I’ll answer the best I can.” Cora told her as she sat in the passenger seat.

  
The engine revved up with the turn of the key. “Okay, number one. Are you a Forbes vampire?”

  
Cora smiled but shook her head. “No, we’re not related in the slightest. One of your ancestors in the 1800s, Oliver Forbes, had an infatuation with me, invited me into the family estate and being a founder he knew about vampires. I didn’t compel him at all, he just didn’t care. He was young and rebellious.”

  
Caroline glanced at her while she was driving down the street. “You knew Damon and Stefan when they were human?”

  
“Only Damon. He was friends with Oliver before they both went off fighting in the war. Oliver died in the war but before he left he made me promise that I would protect his family.” Cora added, looking out the window. Remembering the eldest Salvatore with Oliver back in the day.

  
Caroline upped her age from sixty years to a hundred and sixty years. “What was he like when he was human then?”

  
“Just like how Oliver was. He was cheeky, had a way with the ladies, he was easy going and just talking with him was natural. They were the best of friends.” Cora looked over at Caroline, she had a smirk on her face.

  
“Did you have a little crush on Damon?”

  
Cora shook her head with a chuckle. “God, no. He was just a friend at that moment and then Katherine came into town with that sob story of hers. Orphan girl, family burned in a fire. I knew better, unlike the Salvatore brothers. They deserved better than what she gave them.”

  
That made Caroline think a lot about how the two brothers are today. Katherine screwed them around, turned them into vampires and then they realised what she really was. She ruined them both. Damon more so, he believed that Katherine loved him like he loved her but it was always Stefan. That made her pity them both.

  
“We’ll continue this chat.” Caroline parked the car on the side of the road, seeing Elena waiting for her with a bag slung around her shoulder.

  
She turned the engine off and got out of the car. Elena smiled at the sight of her, and walked over to her. “Hey, thanks for coming, Caroline.” Then Cora stepped out of the car. Elena looked the confused at the dark-haired woman, her gaze switched to Caroline.

  
“Who’s this?” The brunette questioned.  
Caroline looked at Cora and then at Elena. “This is Cora, a vampire.”

  
The two vampires heard Elena’s heart beat speed up a little bit. “It’s okay, Elena. She’s okay. She is here to help.” That slowed down her heart to a normal rate.

  
“How? How do you know her?” Elena tightened the hold on the strap of her bag.

  
Cora smiled at the girl. “I situated myself as her aunt for several years, then a family friend, the list goes on and on. I pose no threat to you, Elena nor your friends or family.” Elena wasn’t so sure to believe her but Caroline seems to be ‘buddies’ with her so she didn’t know what to think. She wasn’t expecting this at all.

  
“It’s true, Elena. She’s an old friend of Damon’s from when he was human.” Caroline tried to reassure her.

  
Elena took a breath to process this. “If you say she’s good, alright but she’ll have to prove it.” Cora stared blankly at her but she understood the reasons behind it. Vampires are a predatory species and humans are their prey so it was normal to be wary of a new vampire showing up in their lives that claimed good intentions.

  
“Very well.” Cora nodded.

  
Caroline smiled, pleased at the interaction. It went better than she thought it was going to go. “What’s happening, Elena?”

  
Elena pulled her attention from Cora and came back to the real reason why she was here in the first place. “I need your help. I need to speak to Katherine. Alone.”

  
Caroline stared bug eyed at her. “What? No!”

  
“Why not? It’s not like Katherine could hurt her in anyway. She is locked in the tomb with the barrier stopping her from leaving.” Cora persuaded Caroline, and Elena looked surprised that she was on her side about this.

She hadn’t known her for five minutes.  
Caroline sighed, seeing the logic in that was hard to avoid. “To the tomb.” The three of them headed into the woods towards the tomb under Fell’s Church where Katherine was doing whatever she is doing.

  
“Tell everyone I wasn’t feeling well and I went home from school.” Elena informed her as they were at the half way point to the tomb.

  
Caroline nodded reluctantly. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I am a terrible liar.” She mumbled.

  
“And keep Stefan busy. I don’t want him to know what I’m up to.” Elena added.

  
Cora commented on the subject. “I take it Stefan won’t like this?”

  
“No, he won’t.” Elena put simply.  
Caroline whined. “I’m terrible at duplicity, you know this.”

  
Elena looked over at her friend, she had to get her to understand. “You managed to keep me preoccupied when Katherine paid Stefan a visit.”

  
Cora decided to take a back seat on this one. “Yeah, because she threatened me. Not that I’m saying that you should use that tactic, its…Stefan’s going to see right through me.”

  
“Not with your new best friend.” She had a point – that will keep him preoccupied.

  
Elena sighed, stopping in her tracks to look at her friend. “Caroline, as my friend, do you promise or not?” She added in a serious tone.

Caroline couldn’t go against that. “You had to bring out the girlfriend code. Okay. I promise.”

  
Elena smiled gently. “Okay.”

  
“Why don’t you want Stefan to know?” Caroline cocked an eyebrow at her as they reached the ruins of Fell’s church.

  
Elena shifted the bag’s strap from her shoulder to over her head to the other shoulder, it was more secure this way. “Because he would never be okay with me doing this.” She had a point, Cora thought. She put the puzzle pieces together that Stefan fell in love with Elena and that’s why he is so protective over her. She had to say it was strange seeing Katherine’s face but with a gentle soul and mind.

  
Caroline helped Elena under the church ruins with Cora following behind them. In this situation, she was considered ‘the muscle’ at this point. They soon came face to face with the stone door that held a carved pentagram. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Caroline asked in hopes for a change of heart in Elena.

  
Elena had to do this. “Yes, I’m sure. She’s the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one that can tell me how to stop him. Unless you know.” She moved her vision over to the third member of the party.

  
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t had the displeasure of meeting Klaus himself.” Cora informed them. Caroline made sure to ask her about Klaus as she knew of him.

  
Caroline stared at Elena. “But you’re asking for the truth from someone who’s probably never given it. Are you sure about this?”

  
“Yeah. I can’t just sit back and wait. I have to know, Caroline. Please.” The doppelganger pleaded to her friend. She wanted answers and unfortunately the only one that could answer them was her ancestor.

  
Caroline nodded, herself and Cora headed towards the door. The two of them got a good grip on the door, then lifting it up and heaving it to the wall that was sat beside it. They let go of the door once it was leant on the wall to the right.

  
Elena called out. “Katherine?”

  
“I’ll be okay from here.” She told them both, still hanging on to her bag.

  
All three of them heard a noise. Elena turned her head and stared at the door’s entrance. They watched carefully as Katherine stumbled her way to the doorway, stopping right before it.

  
“Hello, Elena, you come to watch me wither away? Goodbye, Caroline.” She smirked and then met the sight of Cora.

  
“This one looks familiar. Oh, I know, Damon talked about you back in the day. The one who died in the war liked you very much. It annoyed the hell out me when he talked about the two of you. I had no idea you were a vampire.” Katherine teased with a snarky grin on her face.

  
Elena looked at Caroline and Cora. “As long as I stay on this side of the door, she can’t hurt me. Please.” That was there que to leave them two alone, although reluctant they did just that.

  
Caroline glanced at Cora and then back to the two of them, she didn’t want to leave Elena alone with her. She knew first-hand what Katherine could do with words.

Cora took Caroline’s hand, “Come on.” She willed her and the two of them left. They had things to attend to such as distracting Stefan.

 


	3. we come alone and alone we die

Elena went down to her knees and removed the bag from her shoulder, placing it in front of her. Katherine only stared at her, watching her like a hawk. “Stefan know you’re here?”

She didn’t answer her. “I brought you some things.”

Katherine’s eyes narrowed at her. “You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?”

“I want you to tell me about Klaus.”

Katherine almost looked impressed. “Hmm, you’ve been busy.” She hummed amused.

Elena pulled a thick brown frayed book out of the bag. “I also brought you this.” The word Petrova was carved into the binding on the book.

Katherine just observed as Elena continued. “It’s your family’s history. It says in here that the family line ended with you. Obviously, that’s not true.” The book wasn’t the only thing in that bag of hers.

“You think that if you brought me some family keepsake that I’d open up?” Katherine titled her head, thinking that it was highly amusing that Elena thought she would open just like that.

Elena smirked. “I also brought you this.” She put her hand into the bag and pulled out a plastic bottle that was filled with human blood, showing it to Katherine. Black veins appeared spidering under red eyes.

  
Katherine used her what’s left of her vampiric strength to rush towards the human blood but was pushed back from the magic fuelled barrier.

“You don’t look so good. How long before your body shuts down? 10, 20 years? It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can’t even imagine.” Elena waved the bottle of blood teasingly in her hand, very proud of herself.

Katherine glared at her but slowly sat down opposite her with the spelled barrier keeping them apart. Elena pulled a little plastic cup out the bag, and twisted the bottle cap off then pouring a small amount of blood into the small cup. She picked up a nearby stick and used it to push the cup of blood towards Katherine and pass the barrier.

Katherine quickly grasped the up and poured it down her throat. Her blue and grey skin started to regain some of its colour. “You have the Petrova, fire.” She told the girl, her voice raspy.

“More blood?” Elena asked.

Katherine put the plastic cup in front of her and as close to the barrier as she could, Elena took it. “It’s a long story, Klaus and me. It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria. Or was thrown out.” Katherine began, waiting on more blood.

Elena filled it up and pushed it passed the barrier once more. “Thrown out?”

“My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at the time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame.” Katherine leant her head back against the stone.

Elena put two and two together. “It was kept secret?”

“Mhmm. My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust. So, I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him at first, till I found out what he was and what he wanted from me. And then I ran like hell.” Katherine played with the empty plastic cup with her fingers as she told Elena everything she knew.

Elena fiddled with the stick. “So, what did Klaus want?” The all-important question.

“The same thing he’ll want from you. To break the curse.”

She leant back, realisation exactly what that meant. “By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger.”

Katherine nodded, eyes hooded while looking at her. “He wanted to drain every drop of blood from my body.”

\---

Whimpers and sniffles were heard as Damon entered the foyer of the Salvatore Boarding house, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed as he saw Rose wiping her tears away.

“Alright, Rosebud, I need some answers. Oh, please don’t tell me you’re crying because your buddy Trevor lost his head.” Damon groaned, rolling eyes. He did have a way with words.

Rose turned to him, her eyes red and puffy. “You’ve always been this sensitive?”

“Full vampire switch for a reason. Takes the emotion out of it.” He smirked.

She shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, you switch yours, I’ll switch mine.”

“Is that a dig?” Damon cocked an eyebrow at the five-hundred-year-old vampire.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s an observation. Being in love with your brother’s girlfriend must be difficult.”

“I’m not in love with anyone.” He instantly denied it.

A grin grew on her face. “You wanna try that again?”

“Don’t get on my bad side.” He warned her.

Rose countered him. “Then show me your good side.”

He changed the subject, not particularly liking the current conversation. “How do I find Klaus?” He questioned her.

“You don’t find Klaus, he finds you.” She shook her head.

He groaned, throwing his head back. “Come on. Somebody’s got to know somebody who knows where he is, right?”

“Add another two-hundred somebody’s to that and you’re not even close.” Rose explained to him.

Damon thought back to the masquerade and Elijah. “Humour me, you got in touch with Elijah. How did you do it?”

Rose rolled her head, unsure with herself. “Through someone very low on the totem pole. A guy named Slater in Richmond.” She reluctantly told Damon this. She just got off the radar, she didn’t want to jump right back in even with Elijah being dead.

Damon smirked. “Perfect. I’ll drive.” He picked up his leather jacket that rested on the sofa.

“No. You forget not all of us can do sun.” Rose told him, motioning to the Lapis Lazuli ring that sat on his finger.

He compromised. “Then you drive. Come on.”

\---

Caroline saw Stefan walking through the courtyard of the high school. He was heading towards his red car. He was leaving. She rushed all the way towards the younger Salvatore. She called out to him. “Stefan!”

He heard her voice and slowed down, looking behind him. “Hey.”

Caroline smiled at him. “Hey. Uh, I need to talk to you. Where are you going?” She walked beside him.

“Well, Elena went home sick; I just want to go check up on her.” Stefan told her still heading toward his car.

Caroline needed to stop him. “Ditch her.”

“I’m kind of worried about her.” Stefan said and she could hear worry lacing his tone. He cared so damn much.

Caroline took a breath. “You know what? Of course, you are. Go ahead, I’d…you know what? We can talk later.” A little guilt trip didn’t hurt.

He stopped his footing, she stopped as well. “Uh, talk about what?”

“I might have done something.” Caroline shifted her feet, playing her part.

Stefan asked her seriously. “What did you do?”

“She called me.” His eyes found the voice whom said that and saw her, she looked familiar. Stefan looked back over at Caroline, whom was looking sheepishly.

\---

Elena refreshed the cup with blood and glided it over to Katherine with the stick. “What does the Petrova blood line have to do with Klaus?”

“It’s really tedious but…” She drank the blood and then crushed the plastic cup in her hand, more colour is restored in her skin.

Katherine continued. “The curse is bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their spells. The doppelganger was created to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelganger reappeared, the curse could be broken.”

“So, you ran before he could kill you?” She took a breath as she took all this information in.

Katherine tilted her head. “Something like that.”

\---

A blacked-out SUV parked in an underground parking lot in Richmond. Two vampires exited the car.

“Back entrance. How convenient.” Damon commented with an amused smirk carved on his face.

Rose rolled her eyes. “That’s the point. We can’t all have little daylight rings.” She reminded him.

“How do you know that this Slater guy is even here?” He questioned her, making sure she kept on her word. He didn’t trust her. Well, he didn’t trust anyone.

She chuckled. “I called him. He’s here. He’s always here.”

“Good.”

Damon smirked and then violently pushed her up against the wall. “Just one thing. If you’re setting me up in anyway, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It’s something I’m very good at.”

Rose smirked herself and flipped the situation, she rammed him into the car harder than he ever could, she twisted his arm behind his back. “I’m older than you and stronger. Don’t get on my bad side.” She released him from her hold on him.

“You can trust me.”

They left the parking lot in silence, entering the coffee shop. “Whoa, what about sunlight?” Damon asked.

“Doubled paned and tempered. UV rays can’t penetrate. You see the appeal now?” Rose smiled.

“That and free WI-FI.” Slater joined into their conversation.

Rose smiled happily as she hugged him, she pulled away soon after. “Hey, how are you?”

“Good. I saw you come, what are you doing here?” He smiled, looking back and forth between them.

Rose glanced at Damon and then to Slater. “Mmm. It’s a long story but I want you to meet…” She started.

Slater finished it. “Damon Salvatore. Turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So, I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church?” He asked with a grin, happily placed on his face.

Rose smiled at him. “Yes. It was right. Thank you for the tip.”

Slater nodded and turned his attention to Damon. “It’s nice to meet you, maybe. What’s going on Rose? Where’s Trevor?” Rose’s face dropped at the name of her dearly departed friend.

\---

Elena had her legs crossed and leant her forearms on her knees as she listened to Katherine life story. “Rose never ended up taking you to Klaus, did she?”

“No, but not because she had a change of heart.” Katherine told her, content with feeding her with more information on the matter.

Elena was silent before she was almost distressed. “You killed yourself?!”

“Klaus needed a human doppelganger. As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him.” She shrugged, not really caring at the truth of how she turned into a vampire.

Elena gripped the stick in her hand tighter. “But it didn’t work. You didn’t really escape, you’ve been running from Klaus ever since.”

Katherine nodded, she expected that she knew that part being as it was obvious. “I underestimated his spirit for vengeance but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock.” Elena went pale, almost as she was ill, Katherine saw this and took advantage of her emotional state.

“What’s wrong? Afraid that I am right? You don’t want to die? Well, there’s another way out.” She smirked evilly.

Katherine pressed one of her nails into her wrist, cutting it and releasing the blood in her veins and Elena watched almost horrified at the thought. “Better hurry. Your opportunity is going, going, going and gone. I made the other choice.” She teased, playing with her.

Elena dragged a hand down the lower half of her face. “Rose and Trevor spent the last 500 years running because you used them. Trevor just got killed.”

Katherine looked genuinely surprised but no remorse or guilt was shown. “I never thought that he would last that long.”

“You don’t even care that you ruined their lives.” Elena looked disgusted at her lack of humanity.

Katherine narrowed her dark eyes at her. “I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same.” She told her and this time it was actual advice. Katherine turned away from Elena, taking the Petrova history book with her.

\---

The Mystic Grill was not as packed as if would be on a Friday night. Stefan sat in the corner with Caroline and Cora. Caroline was the only one of them that ordered actual food.

“Sorry to drag you here but if I don’t eat, I get those kill innocent people urges.” Caroline smiled, trying to break the silence between the three of them.

His forehead seems to get bigger. “How did she even find you? Who are you actually?” Stefan kept asking the same questions that Caroline once did.

“I’m surprised you don’t remember me spending little time with your brother when you were both human.” Cora told him and she watched the cogs turning in his head as things started to fit into place.

Stefan leant back into his seat. “You’re the girl that Damon’s friend was in love with.”

“His name was Oliver, and Cora is just fine.” She smiled.

He raised an eyebrow at her in question. “Did Katherine turn you? She turned quite a few people back in 1864, including myself and Damon.”

Cora shook her head. “No, I was a vampire before she even got into town.”

“Does Damon know you’re in town?” Stefan figured that if Damon found a new friend in an old friend they had more of a chance against Klaus, when he eventually shows up if he is even real.

She shook her head again. “He doesn’t.”

“By the way, I told Tyler I was a vampire.” Caroline slipped that in.

Stefan stared at her. “What else did you say to him?”

“Not much. I was trying to keep the questions to a minimum. Are you mad?” She asked in a small voice.

He groaned, a little frustrated. “Yes, Caroline. As a matter of fact, I am a little mad. I mean, you put yourself at risk. If Damon finds out…” No wonder what he would do to her.

“But you’re not going to tell him, are you?” Caroline asked, hoping he wouldn’t. She found Damon did have a bit of a temper and she knew full well not to get on his bad side.

Stefan shook his head. “No, of course not. He would kill you.”

“If he does find out, I won’t let him lay a finger on her.” Cora warned him. Caroline smiled happily at her, she was protective of her. Sure, she thought it was because she made an all-time promise to her ancestor to keep her family safe but she loves the feeling she got when Cora said these types of things.

“Always looking out for me.” Caroline twirled her fork around the salad she had, with a very happy grin on her face.

Stefan dragged a hand down his face. “Yeah, well, you don’t make it easy for me.”

“Then, why do it? Why are you such a good friend to me?” She wondered that with everyone. She knew that it was hard to be friends with her as her neurotic, control freak and the fact she is high maintenance would drive anyone away. Caroline didn’t believe she was worth the trouble sometimes.

Stefan paused for a moment as a memory of an old friend came into view. “I don’t know. I guess you…you remind me of someone. My best friend, Lexi.” He smiled as he said her name. He missed her.

“I…you have a friend?” Cora chuckled at Caroline’s bluntness.

Stefan rolled his eyes playfully. “You say that with such a discouraging amount of surprise, Caroline.”

“No. I just…sorry. I just…tell me about her.” Caroline needed to buy Elena more time, she made a promise by the girlfriend code.

Stefan glanced between Caroline and Cora, he was still unsure about the black-haired vampire from a distant past but his thoughts were on Elena. “I will, some other time. I got to go.” He told them both as he got up from his chair.

Caroline had to think of something quick and she did. “Wait! No! What do we do about Tyler? I don’t want Damon to kill him because there’s a full moon coming up and Tyler is totally freaking out about it.” She practically begged him to stay.

Cora didn’t know how much longer they could maintain this façade on Stefan.


	4. death is a wish for some, a relief for many, and the end of all

Slater looked the between the two, unsure of what to think. “And you sure Elijah’s dead?”

Damon nodded with a smile. “Beyond dead.”

Slater sighed. “Trevor was a good man; he helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD.” He crossed his arms over his chest, remembering fond memories of Trevor.

“Slater’s been in college since ’74.” Rose informed Damon so the context made sense.

He smiled. “When I was turned. I have 18 degrees, 3 master’s and 4 PhDs.” He was quite proud at what he achieved.

Damon wasn’t so sure. “The point?”

Slater shrugged. “Exactly, I mean, what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity? If you have an answer, please enlighten me.” He shook his head as he chuckled.

“We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you look him up?” Rose cut to the chase, they were here for a reason and she had a feeling that Damon wasn’t fond of chit chat.

He put it simply. “Craigslist.”

Damon stared at him blankly. Was he serious? He thought with distaste. “Really?” He wasn’t impressed.

“Seriously. I respond to a personal ad to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who’s dead and that’s where my connection ends.” Slater told him and they were at a dead end once again. 

People walked past the windows of the coffee shop, going about with their normal everyday lives. The strum of fingers against a guitar made peaceful music from opposite the windows. A man walked by and stopped in front of the guitar player. He gives the player a more than considerable amount of money, a hundred-dollar bill in return for a handful of change in the guitar case. He decants the coins his other hand that was clad with a dark blue ring.  
It’s Elijah.

He looks at Slater, Damon and Rose through the windows. 

\---

Stefan didn’t believe Caroline. “Okay. Now, I’m leaving.” He told her in all seriousness.

“Wait!” She tried her best but it was over, Cora knew it.

Stefan put his bag over his shoulder, looking back at her. “No, no, no, Caroline, you have two seconds to come clean.”

“What do you mean?” Caroline played the innocent card with the cute tilt of her head.

Cora thought it was amusing to watch. “I’d believe the whole innocent act a little better if I didn’t know how good you were at providing a distraction on demand. 

"Where is Elena?” It was more of a demand now. 

Caroline bit her lip. “I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t tell me? Are you kidding me?” Stefan almost laughed at that.

Caroline made a promise and she can’t go back on it now. “I’m sorry but I…I can’t tell you.”

“No, she can’t. But I can.” Cora didn’t make a promise to Elena, she hardly knows the girl. 

Stefan turned to Cora, awaiting an answer from her while Caroline put her puppy-dog eyes out to show. “Elena was kidnapped. She could have been killed, you have to tell me where she is, Cora.”

Cora nodded, she understood his urgency to know but Elena wasn’t in any immediate danger. Her own loyalties lay with Caroline. She was a Forbes, and her promise will last an eternity. “She is not in any danger. Caroline would not have left your Elena put herself in any danger.”

The clock was ticking behind his eyes, Cora could see it. “Put herself in danger where? What do you…? She’s with Damon, isn’t she?” Cora narrowed her grey eyes at that while Caroline looked disgusted.

“Ew! No!” The ditsy blonde almost yelled that.

Stefan looked frustrated with all the word and mind games. “Then where…where is she? Listen, if you are my friend like you’ve been pretended to be all day, then you tell me where she is.”

Caroline saddened and her face softened. “Stefan, I am your friend but I am also Elena’s friend and I’m sorry but I can’t tell you where she is.” He sighed exhausted, he looks at her one last time.

Cora mouthed to him. ‘Tomb.’ And he left.

\---

Elena sucked in her cheek as she thought things through. “So, how much of your little story is true?”

Katherine smiled to no-one but herself, as she turned page by page of the Petrova book. “I have no reason to lie, Elena. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot.”

“Okay, assuming it’s even partially true, that’s the reason you came back, isn’t it? Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus.” Elena rose to her feet, taking a deep breath.

Another turn of a page. “Five-hundred years on the run, I figured maybe he’d be willing to strike a deal.”

“So, you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone.” She slowly began to pace, putting everything together piece by piece.

Katherine smiled. “Right again.”

“What else do you need to break the curse?” Elena asked.

Katherine closed the book and turned to her. “Hmm, look who is getting smarter.” She smirked at the girl.  
Elena paced back and forth the outside of the tomb. 

“It’s not just me or the stone, is it? Otherwise there would be no reason to trigger Tyler Lockwood’s werewolf curse.” She came to that conclusion.

Katherine watched as the puzzle pieces are pushing together in her mind. “Witches and their spells: so many ingredients, so many people to sacrifice.” She hummed along.

“So, you need a werewolf?”

She nodded. “Believe it or not, they’re hard to come by.”

“What else?” More pacing.

Katherine rested her head on the stone wall. “A witch to do the spell. Mine bailed but Bonnie will do just fine.”

“What else?” Elena asked again.

She smirked. “A vampire.”

“Caroline.” She paused her anxious pacing.

Katherine was having fun watching her fall apart mentally. “It could have been anyone but I like the poetry of Caroline.”

“So, you were just going to hand us all over to be killed?” Elena glared at her.

The withering vampire pushed herself up from the floor, leaning on the wall for support. “Better you die than I.” She leered, leaving Elena all alone as she pushed her way further down into the tomb.

\---

Damon was sat at a table with Rose and Slater. “Here’s what I don’t get: Elijah moved around during the day, which means the originals knew the secret of the daylight ring. Now, why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?” 

Slater filled that gap in. “To keep the werewolves from lifting it. If a vampire breaks the sun curse, then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa.” 

“But werewolves are extinct.” Rose added.

Slater nodded. “True. I’ve never seen one but rumour has it…”

“Not such a rumour.” Damon told them, he’s had a run in with one: Mason Lockwood. It wasn’t a very pleasant exchange between the two as it ended with him ripping his werewolf heart out.

Slater had a big smile on his face. “Mystic Falls? God, I’ve got to visit this place. It sounds awesome.” He chuckled. 

Elijah was still outside of the coffee shop, he was listening to their conversation. The coins still in his hands.

Damon smirked. “Awesome doesn’t begin to describe it. Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?”

“What do you mean?” Slater’s brow furrowed, wondering why he would as that.

The eldest Salvatore shrugged. “Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?” He asked, hypothetically.

“Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?” Again, he was confused.

Damon’s tone changed. “Tell me how.”

“You think I’m going to help you how to do something that will piss of an original? And keeping them from walking in the sun?” Slater laughed.

Damon smirked. “You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us.” He was quite persuasive with his words – perhaps, it was something he learnt from Katherine.

Elijah was still listening in and he jumbled the coins in his hands. He pulled his arm back and threw the coins at the windows with such force that they all shattered into pieces. Piercing sun beams entered the coffee shop and all vampires that didn’t wear daylight rings were affected. Their skin bubbled up and burned off, their screams of pain followed as they were lit of fire slowly turning to ash. 

Slater and Rose’s skin was pealing and burning, Rose was screaming in pure agony. Damon looks outside and Elijah is nowhere to be seen. Slater ran away. 

Damon looked at Rose’s face and its nearly burnt into pieces, he took off his jacket and quickly put it over her to try and shield her from the sun. Damon helps her get out the back of the coffee shop, the same way they came in. Other vampires followed suit, not wanting to burn to ashes and die once more – this time for good.

Damon carried her to the SUV, and opens the door, putting her in the back. “You’re going to be okay.” He tried to reassure her, she would heal.

“I know.” She whimpered in pain.

He looked around. “Who was behind that?”

“I don’t know, where is Slater?” She said through cries.

Damon shook his head. “Iowa by now. Who the hell knows?”

“He’s not behind this, he’s a good guy. He wouldn’t betray me.” Rose was sure of it, she trusted him with all her heart. He wouldn’t do this to her.

He stared at her. “Then who did it?” He asked her, hoping she had a good idea of who.

“It’s Klaus, don’t you understand? You don’t know this man, we’re dead, we’re all dead.” Rose cried, shaking as her face slowly healed from the burns the sun inflicted.

\---

Elena was still in the tomb, and alone. She looked down the tomb’s entrance hoping for Katherine to come back and answer more of her questions but it doesn’t like that is ever going to happen. She sighed, picking up the more than half empty bottle of blood and shoving in her bag. She heads to leave but comes face to face with Stefan.

“Elena.” 

She was like a deer in headlights. Caught. “Stefan, what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same questions.” He voice was soft and filled with concern, he thought she was in danger.

“Caroline told you.” Elena suspected.

Stefan shook his head. “No, she kept her secret. Cora finally told me, she didn’t promise to keep your secret.”

“I knew you would stop me if you knew.” She tried to reason with him. 

Stefan’s jaw hardened. “Listen to me, whatever she said to you is a lie. Do not listen to her. She’s a liar, Elena.” He told her as he knew Katherine’s game all too well.

“What if she isn’t? You didn’t hear what she said.” She could be lying, she could be telling the truth. It’s a bunch of ‘what ifs’ and they have nowhere to look.

He gently put his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He vowed.

“That’s the problem, you won’t but you’ll die trying. How’s that any better?” They both heard rustling and footsteps come from the tomb. 

Katherine heard their little conversation and appeared. “There’s nothing you can do, Stefan. I haven’t even told you the best part of the story.” She told them with her signature smirk.

“He killed them, my entire family, just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your family, your friends and anyone you’ve ever loved.” 

Stefan looked at Elena. “No, look at me. No, don’t listen to her, okay?” He tried to get Elena to see sense that Katherine is a liar and always will be.

“Always the protector but even you must realise that she is doomed. There’s nothing you can do to stop it unless, of course, you have this.” Right then, she pulled out a white crystalized smooth stone.

Elena stared at it. “What?”

“Oh, no, there it is. It’s the ultimate lie, isn’t it? You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn’t you?” Stefan grew angrier.

Katherine shrugged. “I didn’t spin anything, Stefan. It’s the truth.”

“No, let me guess. You want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, psychotic bitch.” He snarled at her.

Katherine laughed at him. “My freedom? That is where you are wrong, Stefan. I don’t want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all and he will, I’ll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can’t get out. I’ll be the safest psychotic bitch in town.” That smirk never left her face, she looked at Elena and then slowly retreats into the tomb, leaving the two of them the swallow that.

“Send my love to Caroline’s new best friend! Maybe she’ll take her place and get slaughtered by Klaus!” Katherine laughed and it echoed through the tomb, it was highly unnerving to the both of them.

\---

Damon was sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace in the living room, drinking bourbon from a glass chaser. Rose joined him. “I’m sorry about today. I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

She was sincere. “I believe you.” He told her.

“I wish we could save Elena. I know that you want to.”   
It was true, he did. “And I will.” 

“You remind me of Trevor.” Rose smiled.

Damon’s face scrunched up in offense. “Why? Why him?” 

She faced him as she said this. “Because he always talked the big game, he was always working on an angle but underneath it all, he was the best friend anyone could hope for.” 

He chuckled. “And where did that get him?”

“Dead and my loyalty to him almost got me dead, too.” She revealed.

Damon handed her a glass of scotch. “To friendship.” 

“You’re right to fight it, the way you feel about her.” Rose said before she took a sip of the perfectly aged scotch.

Damon cocked an eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

“Because if you want to survive, you need to not care about anyone.” Rose told him.

He took a sip of his bourbon. “Caring gets you dead, huh?”

“It might just be time to turn the switch off on your emotions.” 

He smirked, leaning in. “I will if you will.” They met in the middle and fell into each other. Rose was mourning her best friend and Damon needed a distraction from all the emotions and drama currently in their lives. 

They found comfort in each other and it found its way into his bedroom. 

\---

Elena made her way up the steps to her porch with Stefan behind her, he was making sure she was alright and she got home safely. 

“Elena.” He spoke her name so softly that made her eyes water.

She composed herself. “I can’t talk about it, Stefan.” 

“You have to. Don’t shut me out, Elena, please.” Stefan begged her, now standing beside her on the porch to her house.

Elena slowly turned to him and she let the rivers run, tears upon tears slid down her cold cheeks. She sniffled. “I wanted to know the truth and I got it. It’s not just me that’s in danger. It’s Caroline and its Tyler and its Bonnie. They’re all a part of breaking the curse. I can’t blame anyone else anymore because it’s not because you came into town or because you and I fell in love. That’s not why everyone I love is in danger. It’s because of me, everything is because of me.” 

Stefan pulled her into his chest and let her cry. She bottled up all this emotion throughout everything and today just blew the top off. He softly kissed her forehead as he held her. All he could do right now is just hold her. 

\---

Curled up by the fireplace, under a blanket, a shirtless Damon lay peacefully on his back with a lingerie clad Rose to his side. She hummed as her head rested on his arm. “It’s a lie, you know. There’s no switch you can turn off. Sure, when you’re a newbie but after couple of hundred years…you just have to pretend.” 

A phone buzzed against the floor, Rose looked over at it. She picked up the mobile, answering it. “Hello?”

A familiar voice responded. “Rose?” It was Slater.

She smiled at the sound of his voice but she was still worried about him. “Slater, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I took off, I’m sorry. I was friggin’ freaked.” He took a deep breath.

Rose rubbed her cheek. “No, I’m sorry I involved you.”

“Look, I want no part in this but I did some digging.” Slater announced.

She sat up. “Okay, what did you find?”

“You can destroy the curse but you need the moonstone.” He told them.

Her brow furrowed. “How? What do you mean? I don’t follow.”

“Can your friend get the moonstone? You need it.” Slater said.

Rose looked over at Damon, he nodded his head affirming to that. “Yeah, he can get it. What next?” She asked.

“You need a witch. Get the moonstone, a witch should be able to figure out the rest. Good luck, Rose.” With that, Slater ended the call.

The two looked at each other and it looked like they had a plan after all, all they need now is to get the moonstone and find a witch. One of them is easy, the other not so much but it will get done. Sooner rather than later.

\---

Slater hung up the phone on his conversation with Rose. He put the phone down on the desk, and slowly turned to the two men in his apartment. Nerves running through him. “Very nicely done.” Elijah commended with a small smile.

“Thanks, I have a degree in theatre. How can you compel me? A vampire can’t compel another vampire.” Slater was scared but curious, nonetheless. 

Elijah pulled something out of his coat. “I’m a special vampire.” 

“What? Because you’re an Original?” He asked with a nervous chuckle.

Elijah nodded. “Hmm, now I want you to take this and drive it through your heart.” He handed Slater a wooden stake, and he takes it in hand.

He looked at him afraid. “But that would kill me forever.”

“I know.” Elijah was expressionless.

He made sure that they had eye contact. “But it’s necessary.” 

Slater thrusted the wooden stake into his chest, aiming at his heart. Once it was pierced, his body started to grey and slowly die. Black veins grew all over his body, he falls to the floor, completely dead. 

A witch stood behind Elijah. “Was it, really?” He asked the original.

“It had to be done. He delivered his message, it won’t be long now.” The two look at each other.


	5. don't be afraid of death

The house was quiet as far as Elena knew when she went to sleep the night before right after her shower. She turned in her bed, the sheets clinging to her body. 

Her ears reacting to low noises coming from somewhere in the house. She tossed and turned again, awakening from her slumber. The door to her bedroom was left open ajar, she sat up, staring at the door uneasily for a moment. Elena slowly laid back down, turning onto her stomach and shutting her eyes trying to go back to sleep. 

A towel rustled by movement in her bathroom. A dark-skinned man stood in the doorway, staring at Elena as she lightly slept. Any noise would wake her up. She gasped awake, jolting out of bed, once again, when she heard a door slamming shut loudly. 

Elena sat up in her bed, the man disappeared from his stance in the bathroom. She pushed herself to the side of the bed and then stood up and slowly walked across her bedroom, her bare feet cooling at the touch of the chocolate brown wooden flooring. Elena walked to her door and out onto the landing, she looks around the landing for anything suspicious and quietly approaches Jeremy’s room. She peered in through his barely open bedroom door. 

Her eyes widened as she heard a sharp noise behind her. She spins around, letting out a gasp as she came face to face with a half-naked Alaric but thankfully he was wearing boxers or this could have ended in much needed therapy sessions. He also looked startled by Elena’s unexpected appearance on the landing.

Alaric coughed trying to cover up the awkwardness they were both feeling. “Elena. Ahem.” He lowered the bowl of ice cream he was holding towards his nether regions, covering them up.

“I heard something.” Elena said, feeling very uncomfortable.

Alaric chuckled nervously as Elena avoided his gaze, still quite embarrassed. Jenna joined them on the landing, wearing his button up shit loosely. She ran her fingers through her hair, embarrassed as well. “That was us. I’m sorry.” 

In Elena’s bedroom, the man pulled out a handkerchief and collected strands of her hairs from her hair brush. Alaric smiled, still full of awkwardness. “We didn’t think anyone else was up.” He tried to explain their actions to the young girl.

“But here you are.” Jenna continued sheepishly.

Alaric looked down at the bowl of ice cream and then back at Elena. “We were just-” The two were trying the explain the situation to Elena but are completely failing in their attempts.

Alaric sighed and held out the bowl of ice cream to Elena. “Chunky monkey?” He offered. The man in Elena’s room grabbed some of her jewellery and placing in it the same handkerchief that held loose strands of her hair, and shoved into the inside pocket of his jacket. 

The man listened to the conversation that the three of them were having outside Elena’s bedroom on the landing. “Well…I’m going to go.” He chuckles and walked past Elena, and headed into Jenna’s bedroom, shutting the door behind him. She started to walk back towards her room and Jenna, still embarrassed, walking up the remainder of the stairs.

“I’m really, really sorry.” Jenna said.

Elena turned around to her aunt before she reached her bedroom. “It’s okay, Jenna, don’t worry about it.” 

“I know he’s been staying over a lot. Are you – are you sure it’s okay?” Jenna asked with her eyebrows curling up as concern for approval came into view.

She smiled. “It’s seems like things are good.”

“They’re extremely good.” Jenna said while smiling dreamily.

Elena was happy that Jenna was happy, that’s all she ever wanted. “Then I’m extremely okay with it.”

The man was still in Elena’s bedroom, he grabbed a picture frame that held a photo of Elena in her old cheerleading uniform and shoved it in his jacket quickly – he didn’t have much time left. He leaves the room quickly and quietly hid in her bathroom as Elena and Jenna smile at each other before leaving to go to their respective bedrooms. She climbed back into her bed. 

He waited for Elena to shut her eyes and fall right back to sleep. As soon as she curled up into her blankets and drifts off to sleep, he headed out of the bathroom and taken a stop to take a small hand mirror placing in the waistband of his pants before he exits. He walks out into the landing, then descending the stairs and exiting the house without a soul knowing he was there.

\---

Stefan and Damon treaded down the entranceway to the tomb under Fell’s Church. They get down to the tomb’s floor, the two brothers look at each other for confirmation on whether this was a good idea or not.  
Damon nodded. “Let’s do this.” They walked forward and toward the stone door that covered the entry way to the tomb. Stefan took the left and Damon took the right. 

“1, 2, 3.” Damon told him, and in one heave they pulled the stone door off. They lent it against the wall beside the entrance.

They approach the entrance and they both leaned against the stone frame, waiting for Katherine to slowly show up. She came around the corner, staggering and looking very malnourished and hungry. “Please, come on in, there’s plenty of room for all of us.” She called through a raspy voice.

“I’d rather poke my eyes out.” Damon rolled his eyes.

Katherine lent forward as she spoke. "But they’re such pretty eyes – I’m sure Cora thinks so, too.” She smirked at his dumbfound face.

Stefan glanced at his brother. “What are you going on about now?” Damon shook his head in denial. Cora wasn’t alive, the last time he saw her was when he returned from the war and told the Forbes’ family of Oliver’s heroic death. He only saw her from afar as she left Mystic Falls, the carriage rolling away.

“Oh, don’t you know? Cora came to see me with Elena and Caroline. She’s a fully fledge vampire, I didn’t even know back then.” Katherine shrugged.

Damon ground his teeth as his face hardened. “You’re lying.” 

“She’s not. I had lunch with her and Caroline.” Damon whipped his head to Stefan, he didn’t know what to think, his emotions were flying all around the place. He was thrown through a loop when he thought of Cora and Oliver. There were things he didn’t get the chance to tell her, especially about Oliver at war with him.

Katherine smiled deviously. “If I knew Cora was in town, I would have used her to hand over to Klaus. You really annoyed me when you talked about her.” She groaned, rolling her eyes.

“It’s shame I didn’t get to kill her myself.”

Stefan had enough with her mind games on Damon. “We’re here for the moonstone.” He told her.

“Feel like tossing it over?” Damon smirked.

She played with the ribbon on the dirty lace black dress she wore. “Tell you what, you get your little witch to hocus pocus me out of here, you can have whatever you want.” She bargained. 

“I thought you liked it in here. Nice and safe where Klaus can’t get you.” Stefan tilted his head with a smirk plastered on his face.

Katherine pursed her lips. “I’ve had time to reconsider.”

“Meaning you’re hungry.” Damon tapped his fingers on the stone wall.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m starving, Damon. And dirty. But above all, I’m bored.” Katherine progressively gotten closer to the entrance of the tomb, stumbling and grasping at the wall.

“At least running from Klaus wasn’t boring – so here’s the deal: you get me out of here, you get the moonstone and I’ll disappear from Mystic Falls forever.” She delivered what she was had to offer, and then walked off and back into the tomb.

She called out to them as she left staggering. “Let me know what you decide.” Katherine said this as she holds up the moonstone and stumbles back into the recesses of the cave.

\---

Elena was sat on the sofa in the living room watching television while snaking on apple slices. A couple knocks to the front door pulled her from her distracted state. She pushed herself up and left the sofa, heading to the door. She pulled it open and found Stefan and Damon standing on her porch.

“Hey, uh, can we talk?” Stefan asked her.

Elena looked between them both. “Why?”

“We went to see Katherine.” Damon informed her.  
She considered it for a moment and then she nodded. 

“Come on in.” Elena stepped aside, allowing Stefan and Damon to come inside. She led them through the hallway and into the kitchen. Jeremy was in his bedroom listening to music so he wouldn’t hear them talk about the sacrifice, Katherine and Klaus. 

They stood around the kitchen island. The two brothers told her Katherine’s terms of the trade. Elena listened carefully, not interrupting them once and hearing every little thing they had to say. Once they had finished, she finally broke her silence. 

“You don’t believe her, do you?” She asked them.

Damon shook his head. “No, of course not. We just want the moonstone.”

“According to Rose’s friend, Slater, there is a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break.” Stefan added.

Damon continued from Stefan. “No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice. Ergo, you live.” He smiled, quite proud of himself.

“How do you destroy it?” Elena enquired.  
Stefan answered her simply. “By releasing it from the moonstone.”

She took a deep breath. “How do you guys know that this is even going to work?”

“Because we have a crafty witch on our side.” Damon smiled

Elena felt out of the loop, everyone was making decisions for her that should be her own. “You discussed it with Bonnie.”

“She agreed to anything she could to help us.” Stefan clarified. 

She clenched her jaw. “It’s Katherine who has the moonstone. She’s not going to give it to you.” She’ll want something in return, she always does. It’s in her nature to be deceitful. 

“We’re going to get it from her.” No matter what, it sounded coming out of Stefan’s mouth.

Damon crossed her arms over his chest. “Well, what he means to say is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hands if we have to.” He was all for that plan if their current one falls through.

“Bonnie just needs to find a way to release the seal long enough for us to get in, get the moonstone, get out in time for her to return it.” Stefan put it so simply and easily, like nothing could ever go wrong. 

Elena exhaled and rubbed her forehead. “Wow. I mean, it sounds like you guys already have it all planned out.” She started to see that there was no exact point in telling her about this plan if they’re just going to do it with or without her consent or opinion. 

“Yep. We’re awesome.” Damon grinned, still full of pride.

Elena knew they weren’t going to like what she was about to say but it was what she felt. “Except for one thing. I don’t want you to do it.”

Stefan and Damon exchanged blank looks. “What are you talking about? Elena, we don’t have a choice.”

“What about Klaus?” She asked like they had forgotten him all together.

Stefan said this like it was obvious. “We’ll find him right after we get the moonstone.”

Elena cocked her eyebrow, looking at the both. “Is that before or after he kills everyone I care about, including the two of you.” She points from Stefan to Damon, the idea that Elena cared about him startled Damon. 

“Elena, if we can de-spell the moonstone, we can save your life.” Stefan said to her, constant worry never leaving him.

Elena sighed, exhausted. “I know. Everybody keeps saying that.” She got up and left the room, leaving the two vampires to exchange looks again.

\---

Caroline sat in a white wooden chair, putting on her makeup, getting ready for later. Cora sat on her bed, watching her. She asked her more questions, like how old she was but it was vague. She looked nineteen to twenty years old when she was turned but for how long she had been a vampire all she said was ‘very old, older than Katherine.’ 

Caroline put all she knew about Cora so far into her memory. Cora is older than the Salvatore’s and Katherine, she was turned into a vampire by the age of nineteen and she made a promise to my ancestor, Oliver Forbes, to keep my family safe. She came to Virginia as she was travelling through the states, trying to avoid the war as it was too much temptation and she knew other vampires fed on the injured but they were killed once found out. That’s all she knew for the moment but she’ll find out more. it will take time to earn her trust but she had her protection. 

Cora titled her head. “You’re seeing a boy.” She figured and saw the small smile on Caroline’s face as she applied her eyeshadow. 

“It’s Tyler, isn’t it? He wants your help.” Caroline looked over her shoulder at her.

Her mouth was agape. “How did you know?”

“I do have vampire hearing, Caroline.” She told the blonde, shaking her head letting out a little chuckle.

Cora crossed one leg over the other. “You want me to come with you?” For protection? She added silently. 

“No, no, I’ll be good. There’s no full moon so I’m perfectly safe. Tyler just needs a friend.” Caroline calmed her as she applied her eyeliner, adding the wing at the end. 

Then she thought of something. “Maybe, you should pay a visit to the Salvatore Boarding House, have a chat with Damon. Hasn’t it been, like, hundred-sixty years since you last saw him?” Caroline didn’t want to get rid of her by any means, she didn’t want to have Cora waiting around for her everyday while she was at school or helping in the ‘Save Elena’ cause.

“I don’t know. We didn’t leave on good terms.” Cora wasn’t sure on seeing him again, she was fine with seeing the youngest Salvatore as she didn’t really have a connection with him or have more than five minutes of conversation in 1864. 

Caroline twisted in the chair to face her. “What happened?”

She took a deep breath as she recalled the distant memories of her departure of Mystic Falls. “Damon came back from the war, being the bringer of bad news to the Forbes family that their beloved son, Oliver, died in the war. I was there, Damon told the story of him leading a march onto enemy territory and both sides died. He lied. I listened to his heart beat, he lied about his death to my face.” Then Katherine came into town and I skedaddled out of there, thought sadly. 

She knew if she stayed in Mystic Falls that she would have become one of Katherine’s victims, and she deserved better than that. Cora was saddened when she heard Damon had been killed but then she heard of his revival years later. She didn’t act on it at all. She put him in her past and headed to Europe, and that was that.

“I think that seeing Damon again will give you some closure with Oliver.” Caroline smiled softly at her, she watched a lot of crime and romance dramas to know what to do with dealing with hurt and grief.

Cora considered this. “Very well, I will go see Damon so you can get rid of me.” Caroline shook her head, letting out a soft chuckle. 

Cora stood up from her bed and walked towards her bedroom door. “Have fun with your werewolf problem.”

“Have fun with your Damon problem.” Caroline laughed


	6. how terrible is it to love something that death can touch

The Salvatore Boarding House stood in all its glory, dark and stoic. Perfect for the two vampires living in it. Elena parked her car in the driveway, she was a woman on a mission today. She climbed out of her car and headed toward the large entrance way to the boarding house but paused in her steps when she felt a presence.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Cora standing to her right. “You nearly frightened the life out of me.”

Cora smiled slightly. “You’re in for a lot more fright, I’ve heard.” Elena have her a stiff nod, her life was on the line but so was the lives of all her friends and the people she cared about.

“Yeah. Why are you here?” She asked, leaning on the right side of her body.

Cora went silent for a few seconds. “I came here to talk with Damon. Unfinished business and all that.”

“I don’t think he’s here.” Elena told her as she left the brothers at her house, they were prepping for their absurd plan on getting the moonstone from Katherine.

“Right, then why are you here?” Cora raised an eyebrow.

Elena didn’t want to answer her but she had a thought. She had a feeling that Cora didn’t have much care for whether she dies in the sacrifice or not. “I need to talk to Rose.”

“Will you need my assistance?” Cora seemed genuine with her intentions. She wasn’t like any other vampire she had met, she wasn’t like Stefan. He cared with all of his being, Damon didn’t seem to care at all and neither did Rose but with Cora she seemed to be in the 50/50 portion.

Elena nodded. “If you promise not to tell Damon or Stefan about what I’m doing.” She learnt that lesson after she didn’t make her promise to silence when she wanted to talk with Katherine alone in the tomb under Fell’s Church.

“I promise, Elena.”

Elena nodded, happy with that. She opened the door to the boarding house and walked in, Cora not far behind her. The door closed as Cora pushed it to. Elena looked around the hallway. They both heard footsteps and Rose came trotting down the stairs, tying a silk robe around her body.

She mistook the two women for Damon. “It’s not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning.” She looked up and see its Elena and a woman she doesn’t recognise standing in the hallway.

Elena looked away, embarrassed while Cora didn’t seem to mind. “I, uh, sorry, I…” She tried to justify herself.

Rose looked over to Cora then back to the brunette. “There’s no one here and who’s this?”

“A friend.” Elena replied.

Rose lifted her eyebrows at that. “You seem to have a lot of vampire friends.”

“Perks of being a doppelganger, I guess.” She shrugged but then got to the point. “I actually came to see you.”

Rose looked surprised and intrigued, so she composed herself. “Then I should probably get dressed.” Rose smiled broadly and turned back, heading back upstairs. Rose soon exchanged her robe for appropriate clothing. Elena led Cora into the parlour room, she figured she had never stepped foot into the boarding house before so she didn’t know where anything was at all.

Rose walked in. “Whatever is going on, it’s a bad idea.” She seemed to already know.

“No, it’s not. From what Stefan told me, your friend, Slater, obviously has more information on Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it.” Elena argued.

Rose sighed, frustrated. “Because someone blew up the coffee shop with us in it.”

“There’s more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it.” Elena really needed to get her hands-on Slater’s mind and what he knows.

“Why are you coming to me with this,” Rose turned to Cora. “And why are you helping?”

Cora really didn’t have a good answer other than postponing her talk with Damon which she didn’t want to get into right now. “She is Caroline’s friend and she asked, and I had nothing else to do today. I’m bored.”

Elena smiled a little. “And because you owe me. One word from me, and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me.”

“Or maybe it’s because you know that they wouldn’t want you doing this, and their moonstone caper gives you a chance to sneak away.” Rose retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Elena exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding. “We’re just having a disagreement, okay? They’re willing to risk everyone that I love and I’m not.”

“They’re just trying to protect you.” Rose said walking closer to the two of them near the couch.

“And you’ve proven that you couldn’t care less whether I’m protected or not. So, we’re back to you taking us to Slater.” Elena said.

Rose sat down on the couch next to her. “What exactly do you hope to achieve by this?”

She thought about this before she came over. “How would you like to be able to walk during the daylight?”

“I’ve been a slave to the shadows for 500 years, what do you think?” Rose smiled.

“I think I know a witch how’s willing to do whatever it takes to help, if you’re willing to make a deal.”

* * *

Caroline sighed as she watched Matt quickly walk away from her after blatantly ignoring her question on how he was. She turned and saw Tyler, she walked over to him.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. “You two still on the outs?”

“Looks like it. You realize there’s almost a full moon?”

His mood dampened. “Vampires don’t have enough problems, you want to take on mine?”

She cared about him, he needed someone and she wanted to be that someone. “Have you even thought about it? The whole…wolf thing? Do you know what you’re going to do?”

“I have a plan.” He said.

“Well?” She asked.

Tyler looked away. “Kind of private.”

“I’m student vice president, head of the prom committee, not to mention I single-handedly organized this town’s clean up campaign. And you’re really going to turn down my help?” Caroline smirked.

* * *

In the parlour room of the Salvatore Boarding House, Bonnie, Stefan, Jeremy and Damon were standing around the table discussing their plan on how to get the moonstone from Katherine.

Bonnie stood by Jeremy, holding her grimoire. “I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and get the moonstone from Katherine.”

Jeremy looked at her. “How? It took both you and your Grams last time, and look what happened to her.”

“I’m well aware of what happened. I’ve learned a few things.” She countered and she really believed that she could.

Jeremy sighed. “Bonnie…”

She deflects his concern and looks over at Stefan. “How will you get it?”

“She hasn’t been feeding. She’s weaker. We’re not.” He said.

Bonnie knew how old and strong she was, a little sceptical so she had to ask. “You wouldn’t be underestimating her, would you?”

“It’s a plan. Is it perfect? What plan is?” Damon scoffed with a smirk.

Jeremy stood up from his seat. “Let me do it. I’ve got my ring. I can get it, get out, no spells necessary.”

Damon rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks, you 16-year-old child. Why didn’t we think about that? Why are you even here?”

“Maybe I can help better the plan. Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?”

Damon looks over at Stefan, almost knowingly. He sighed and left, coming back a minute later with a metal picture of Katherine from 1864 in his hands.

“This belonged to Katherine. Found it with her things after I thought she was dead but it’s hers.” Stefan holds out the portrait of Katherine and Bonnie takes it. She places the portrait in a ceramic bowl and sips her fingers in a glass of water and lets the water droplets drip from her fingertips into the bowl.

Bright embers spark from the bowl, Bonnie shuts her eyes and begins to chant a spell.

“What will this do?” Damon asked.

Bonnie opened her eyes, watching the picture burn in front of her. “I can turn the metal to ash. Blow the ashes on her, and it’ll incapacitate her for a minute or two. Long enough for you to get the stone and get out.”

Suddenly, Bonnie’s nose starts to bleed. She raises her hand to her nose and wipes it away before anyone notices.

* * *

Rose parks her car in an underground parking structure below Slater’s apartment. The three of them ascend the staircase to the apartment.

Rose bangs her fist on the door while Elena and Cora stand nearby. “Slater? Slater, it’s Rose. Open up!” She called out to him but to no answer.

After a moment, Rose looks back at the two. “He’s not home. Sorry.” She didn’t seem it.

Elena hummed. “Mm-mm. No. We didn’t come all the way out here for nothing.”

Cora agreed. “Open it.”

Rose sighed and pushed the doors open using her vampire strength. Elena looks inside the apartment as she gestured into the room.

“After you.” She said.

Elena walks into the apartment with Rose and Cora following suit behind her, Rose goes further into the apartment than the other two do, looking for Slater. “Slater?” She called out once more.

Cora ventures further into the apartment and towards the back, she looks through the doorway and found who she believes to be Slater. “I don’t think he’s going to be much help.”

Elena and Rose rush over to where Cora is standing and gasp at the sight of his greyed, dead body. Rose composed herself and walks over his body and drags it away. Elena, regaining her composure, walked over to the computer desk and picks up a bunch of papers.

Cora followed, standing behind her as she sat down at the desk, shuffling through the papers. “Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his intel.”

Rose walks over. “Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us. The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much too much information just bit him the ass.” She sighed and straightened her back.

Elena shuffled through a few more papers before picking up a framed photo. Rose walks over to the window and pulls back the curtains, startling her.

“What are you…?” Elena asked confused.

Rose smiled. “Tempered glass. U.V. rays can’t penetrate.”

She continued to look out the window. “I used to come here and watch the day.” She stared, thinking about the memories as she took in the outside scenery.

“I’m sorry about Slater.” Elena felt pity for Rose, she lost another friend.

Rose ignored her. “Any luck?” She looked back at the girl.

Elena places the photo back on the desk and attempts to long into one of the computers, she frowns. “It’s password protected. I can’t get in.”

Rose walks to the computer. “No, this is fine. Let’s just go,”

Suddenly, they hear a doorknob rattling from inside the apartment. Rose stood alert, glancing at Elena. “Stay here.”

She looked over at Cora. “You come with me.” She nodded and they both walked past Elena and opened a set of doors. Rose peers into the small hallway and sees a small girl hiding in a corner.

Rose recognised her. “Alice?”

The girl gasped. “Rose!”

Alice, crying heavily, rushes towards Rose and hugs her tightly. “He’s dead!” She whimpered.


End file.
